The Planet of Pain
by ZackAttack96
Summary: When the Doctor and Amy visit an undesignated planet, everything seems fine. But underneath the glitz, glamour and superficial love, there are more sinister goings-on. The Doctor is the only one who can save Amy Pond, but he is the one hurting her...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

With a bump and a squeak and a rattle, the TARDIS materialised after a long and gruelling flight. The Doctor was slumped in the captain's chair, worn-out after running and leaping around the console. Amy still had the guardrail in a death grip. After a moment, the Doctor leapt to his feet.

"Welcome to the planet of…well, it doesn't have a name as of yet, but in twenty years time, the Galactic Federation will finally notice that and give it one."

Amy let go of the rail and painfully straightened up. "What does it get called?"

The Doctor tapped the side of his nose. "Spoilers."

His companion laughed. "You're beginning to sound like River Song!"

The Doctor smiled. "Want to see it? It's beautiful."

Amy's eyes sparkled. "I'll give you three guesses." She pressed a button on the console and called into the microphone. "You coming, Rory?"

From the speaker came a scuffling noise, a muffled thump and a moan of pain. Another scuffling noise came through the grille, then Rory spoke. "I'm quite content recovering from my previous ordeals, thank you very much."

Amy pouted. "Suit yourself." She released the button and turned to the Doctor. "Let's go, then!"

The Doctor took the ramp in two strides and flung open the doors. His grin quickly turned into a frown, though. He closed the doors again, then stepped back and turned to face Amy. She crossed her arms. "You've landed in the wrong place, haven't you?"

"No, I haven't." He looked down at his left foot. "It's just that I think we've gatecrashed a party."

Now that the Doctor mentioned it, Amy could here classical music filtering through the doors. "How far in the future are we?" she asked. The Doctor consulted his watched. "We're in the year…twenty-one forty-three, why?"

"Mainly because they're playing Shostakovich. A party, you said?" The Doctor nodded. "Well, I'd better raid the wardrobe then, hadn't I?" She flashed a smile and bounded down the ramp on the other side of the control room. The Doctor shrugged and started off to his own bedroom, then stopped short. Would that tuxedo actually _fit_ him any more? It had been custom-made for his previous, rather slimmer regeneration. But then he remembered – the TARDIS had made a new one for him. _Hopefully this one won't be my unlucky tuxedo_, he thought as he went to get changed.

Half an hour later, the Doctor was just finishing tying his black bow tie for the umpteenth time. He finally managed to get the last loop through the knot and pulled it tight. After a little adjustment and the donning of the replacement jacket (this time, the TARDIS had provided him with morning wear), he was ready.

The Doctor went down the corridor to Amy's room and banged on the door. "Come on! The canapés are being brought out! We don't want to miss those!"

The door opened six inches and Amy poked her head round the door. "All right, stop your banging!" She grinned cheekily. "You can always come and…help me get my dress on." She swayed seductively but the Doctor was having none of it.

"Need I remind you that you are getting married in the morning one hundred and forty-three years ago?"

The door was closed abruptly in his face. The Doctor contented himself for five seconds before the door opened again and Amy reappeared. "Do you have a red clutch bag on this ship?" The Doctor scratched his head. "Um, I'm not sure, just ask the computer terminal and it will transmat you one." Again, the door closed.

Five minutes later, the Doctor leapt from the captain's chair as Amy walked up the ramp. Truth be told, she looked absolutely stunning. She had chosen a scarlet strapless dress that came down to her knees with matching high-heeled shoes. In here hand she held a matching clutch bag with a gold clasp. The Doctor had to try hard not to gasp.

"So, what do you think, _Doctor_?" she teased.

"Um, what do you need a clutch bag for? You _do_ know that the GBP isn't widely accepted in this galaxy, right?"

"Oh, you know, my hankie, my video camera, that sort of thing."

"Right," said the Doctor slowly. "But couldn't you just put those in your...pocket...right, okay, I see, no pockets, yes."

Amy laughed and sauntered up to him, then slipped her arm into his elbow. "Escort me, oh noble sir!" she said.

"Yes, my lady," retorted the Doctor. They walked down the ramp.

Upon exiting the TARDIS, the softly-playing Shostakovich washed over the two as they walked into the sunlight. Waiters in black tuxedos swept past from all directions, some carrying trays of champagne, orange juice and glasses of wine, and others with platters of canapés. The Doctor paused his observations long enough to spy Amy removing a Flip Ultra HD from her clutch bag and recording the whole scene. He tutted loudly.

"Honestly, the youth of today! Always uploading to Facebook or Twitter!"

Amy chuckled. "You know, I don't think they _have_ Facebook here..."

Before the Doctor could think of a retort, let alone speak it, one of the waiters glided over. "Would you care for a drink, sir? Madam?"

The Doctor accepted an orange juice, whilst Amy went for a glass of champagne. As she took a sip, she nearly choked as the liquid burned a fiery path down her throat. She gagged.

"What?" she spluttered. "I thought this was meant to be champagne! It's more like carbonated brandy!"

"Oh, didn't I mention?" said the Doctor airily. "Alcohol is five times stronger here. Plus, the lower levels of oxygen in the air make it more effective. Since _you_ aren't used to it, you'd get drunk in roughly half a glass of that stuff. In fact..." He whipped the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and scanned the drink. The green light gave the bubbles an eery glow. He continued, "Yes, as I thought. One hundred millilitres would teetotal you."

Amy swallowed and set the glass down on a table. She then moved swiftly to a waiter, collected an orange juice and repositioned herself next to the Doctor on the balcony.

"So, what is there to do on this planet?" she asked.

"Well, right now, we enjoy the party." The Doctor turned to Amy and raised his glass. She clinked the rims and they turned to take in the scene. As the orchestral work drew to a close, there was a smattering of applause and a spotlight blinked on a microphone on the stage. A young man in a rather expensive-looking tailed jacket mounted the podium and spoke into the microphone. The Doctor and Amy didn't listen, though, as Amy leant across the drinks table and whispered into his ear.

"Who's the hotshot, then?"

"I don't know. I suppose he's the chap who threw the party."

Throughout his speech, the man kept on glancing in Amy's direction. The Doctor chuckled inwardly and waited until the close of his speech before speaking. "Don't look now, but I think somebody has an admirer."

Amy looked in the direction of his gaze and saw the young man make his way through the guests towards her. When he arrived, he extended his hand.

"Well, hello there!" he said. Even in those first three words, Amy took an instant dislike to his smarmy attitude, yet allowed his lips to brush the back of her hand. "I'm Lord Galectus. Theo Galectus." Not forgetting the Doctor, Galectus turned and shook hands with the Doctor. "A pleasure to meet you both, I must say. And, you are..."

"I'm the Doctor and this is Amy," said the Doctor. Galectus nodded slowly.

"Are you two...you know, together?" he asked, hesitating slightly.

The Doctor and Amy were quick to correct him. "Oh, no, we're not...together. Well, we are together, but not...TOgether, if you know what I mean..." They both trailed off until Amy finished. "We're sort of travelling companions but that's all."

Galectus smiled. "So, where are you both from?"

The Doctor spoke. "Amy here is from Sol 3. You know, Eastern Spiral Arm of the Milky Way. I'm from Gallifrey."

The other man choked. "A Time Lord? But they're a myth, aren't they?"

"Just because we're a myth doesn't mean we don't exist," said the Time Lord. Galectus straightened up.

"A man of wisdom, I see. Which would concur with your original statement. Time Lords were meant to be wise."

All this time, Galectus was slowly edging his way next to Amy. She noticed this, but pretended not to let on. Although engaged, she decided not to mention it. She wanted to see where this was going. When Galectus put his arm through hers, she stifled a yelp.

"Oh, I'm sorry," purred Galectus. "I suppose my hands are cold from my cocktail. Why don't we...get to know each other a little better, hmm? Come to my private apartment and away from all this noise. That is, of course, assuming your companion doesn't mind?" He turned to the Doctor. He shrugged. "Well, I suppose it's up to Amy, isn't it?"

Amy considered. If anything went wrong, the Doctor would notice. "Okay, I suppose so. Lead the way, Lord Galectus."

As they left, Galectus smiled. "Please, call me Theo."

The Doctor's hearts leapt as he realised what Rory would do to him if anything happened to her. But hey – she could look after herself. Besides, he wouldn't mind a little snooping around himself. The Doctor slipped his screwdriver up his sleeve and made his way over to the tables. He had spotted some vol-au-vents on a tray and wanted to sample one or two. Maybe five or six... Amy would be fine, anyway.

Even as he thought this, Galectus put his mouth to his lapel and spoke quietly into a pinprick microphone. "Make the necessary preparations."

A voice spoke out of a miniature speaker hard-wired into his ear drum. "Yes, sir."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Amy was escorted through to a large glass and chrome building. Galectus swiped a pass card through a reader and, with a buzz and a green light, they were admitted. He led her through a plush lobby area with a royal blue carpet, oak reception desk topped with blue Corian, and cream leather sofas and chairs. At the end of the lobby, there was a bank of brass-fronted lifts with LED floor indicators. Galectus pressed a button and a set of doors glided open with a swoosh. The two entered and he selected the top floor. With a hiss, the doors closed, then Amy felt her stomach lurch as the lift shot up the floors. They arrived at the twentieth floor in three seconds. The doors glided open, and she gasped.

The penthouse apartment was like no other she had ever seen. A massive stereo system sat in one corner, a tower of gleaming chrome knobs, dials and buttons, with two subwoofers sitting next to it and speakers placed in strategic points about the room. In the middle were three bright red leather sofas on a cream carpet surrounding another glass and chrome coffee table. Two glasses of something bubbly were already sitting there.

Galectus turned to Amy and extended an arm. "Please, take a seat. Would you like some music? Something classical, perhaps?"

He snapped his fingers and the stereo system light up. A screen lifted up from a recess in the top, glowing blue. The speakers began wafting some light Mozart into the room and Galectus sat on the sofa next to Amy. He looked into her eyes.

"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever set eyes on," he said. Amy shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Really? That's...nice," she replied. She took a sip of the bubbly something and was relieved to find it was normal champagne.

"Do you like the champagne? I had it specially imported from your planet – Sol 3. I only drink sparkling wine from the French Champagne region myself. That other stuff is too...uncivilised, don't you think?"

Amy nodded her consent. "Far too strong."

Galectus laughed and slipped his arm around Amy's shoulders. She shifted again.

"Um...do you always act this way around women?" she asked.

"Only the pretty ones," he replied, then slipped his hand down the front of her dress. Without pausing for thought, she threw the glass of champagne in his face, the bubbling liquid dripping down his chin onto his jacket and trousers. He leapt to his feet in rage and backhanded her viciously across the face. She collapsed into the table, the glass shattering. She hit the floor hard, the glass cutting her back multiple times. She moaned in pain, then kicked for his groin with her heel. The spike hit squarely between his legs and he doubled over. Amy scrambled to her feet, but before she could run, Galectus had pressed a button on his watch. A klaxon echoed around the apartment and several armed guards burst in, their M15 assault rifles at the ready. Amy sighed and raised her hands.

Galectus staggered to his feet and pointed at Amy. "I want that...that..._thing_ locked up!" he gasped. "Lock her in the south cell block. And...you know what to do." Two of the guards grabbed hold of her arms. She fought back desperately, but to no avail. Another guard approached with a hypodermic syringe.

"No! NO!" she screamed. She felt a sting as the needle bit into her flesh, then she lost all power to her arms and legs. She would have hit the floor but for the guards, who picked her up. The last thing she thought before everything went black was: _Help me, Doctor_.

She passed out.

Outside, the Doctor had no knowledge of what had taken place. Instead, he had sonic'd the card reader and was in the main building. Just before Amy's attack, he was busy hacking into a computer terminal. Mercifully, it wasn't deadlocked, but he had tried nearly everything save for ripping the front out and poking about with a soldering iron. He tried another setting on the sonic screwdriver, only to be rewarded with a nasty beeping sound and a red screen saying "SYSTEM LOCKDOWN". _That's funny_, he thought, _That setting is supposed to work, not lock me out of the system._ What he didn't know was that when Galectus activated the alarm, it locked down all the computer terminals. He didn't know what had happened, of course, because there were nineteen floors between the action and the lobby.

Three more armed guards approached the Doctor. He turned round and put away the sonic screwdriver. "Hi, fellas!" he said brightly. One of them raised what appeared to be a sawn-off shotgun, but upon closer inspection turned out to be a tranquilliser gun. The Doctor raised his hands. "Look, you don't need-" He got no further, as the man fired. A dart slammed into his left heart. He staggered back, then the man fired at his other heart. His last thought before everything went black was: _He's well informed._

He passed out.

**Author's Note: I know this is a shorter chapter, and I'm sorry about that, but the next one's gonna be a LOOOONG one, so I wanted to sort of balance it out. Thanks for reading, by the way.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Amy groaned as she began to regain consciousness. Her eyes opened ever so slowly, but her vision was still blurred. She wondered where she was. Was she still at home?

She suddenly remembered all that taken place and darted to the door of her cell. At least, she would have if it wasn't for the cuffs on her wrists. They were attached to a ring in the wall, so she quickly fell back. With a start, she realised that she had been stripped down to her underwear, so she was freezing cold.

She shivered and slowly sat up. Her wrists ached with the cuffs. She felt exposed and vulnerable. The Doctor had no knowledge of her whereabouts and probably couldn't rescue her anyway. She tugged at the ring in the wall, then put her whole weight behind her pull. It didn't move a millimetre. Suddenly, she slipped and was left dangling by her wrists. She gasped as the metal cut into her wrists with her full weight. She put her feet to the floor and scrambled painfully back onto the ledge she had for a bed.

From the cell door came a scraping sound, a click, then a squeak. A bare bulb in the ceiling illuminated the whole scene with a harsh white light. Amy squinted with the light. As they adjusted, she saw Galectus approaching with a smile on his face.

"Ah, I see Miss Amy...I'm sorry, but you never told me your last name. Anyway, I see you have woken up. That's good, because it helps if you are awake to listen to what I have to say.

"We have your friend, the Doctor, in our custody as well."

Amy's heart sank as she realised that she really had no escape whatsoever.

Galectus continued. "Listen carefully, because this will affect both of you. He is going to be put through a series of challenges, challenges which I seriously doubt he will pass. If he passes three out of the ten challenges, you will be released. For each of the challenges he fails, however..." He sighed. "There really is no nice way to put this. For each challenge he fails, you will be severely and, quite painfully I must admit, punished."

Amy swore. She spat the ugly word right in his face, followed by a quick succession of equally ugly words. His demeanour lost any element of pleasantry it had previously contained. "I don't take kindly to being cursed at, Amy. Especially from the girl who had just five hours ago completely spurned my affections. If our relationship had flourished, Amy, you could have been a Lady! As it is, you will become nothing."

He clicked his fingers and two guards carried a fifty inch plasma screen into the cell. They set it at the other end of the room and plugged in a small antenna. They switched on the screen. After a moment of static and snow, the picture cleared to show a dense jungle.

"We have a number of biomes in this facility. Each one is the home to a different enemy of the Doctor. Even though they usually wouldn't comply at all with my requests, they consented because they hate the Doctor more than complying with my wishes. This is the Jungle Zone. Each enemy was allocated one at random, and this one became the operating ground of a rather interesting enemy. This is one of many CCTV cameras dotted around the biome. They are invisible to the naked eye - mere pinpricks on the bark of trees, on walls, even on the clothing of the Doctor's attackers. You will watch his progress and, in turn, watch him fail you."

Amy felt sick inside. "Are you some sort of sicko?"

Galectus smiled. "No. I just don't enjoy being spurned."

The Doctor was sweating heavily. His tweed jacket and bow tie didn't suit this weather. The fact that he was in that clothing at all surprised him. They must have somehow teleported into the TARDIS without alerting him. He laughed as he realised that he wouldn't have known anyway because they had taken away his sonic screwdriver.

All he knew was that he had ten challenges to complete. He had no knowledge of the fact that he was controlling Amy's fate. He also knew that he would meet an adversary in each of ten different biomes.

He cried out as a vine smacked him in the face for the billionth time. He never visited jungle planets because they were too steamy, hot and riddled with things to get tangled up in, smacked in the face by and tripped up by.

If he hadn't been looking to the left for more vines, he would never have seen it.

A green, scaled creature fired a blaster gun at him. He crashed into the ground and felt the searing heat of the bolt sizzle above his body. A tree next to him disintegrated and pieces of bark fell all around him. He leapt to his feet again and ran as fast as he could. Two more bolts crackled past him, one hitting another tree and the other slamming into a small creature in front of him. Instead of toppling to the ground, it continued on its way, and because of the bolt, the Doctor saw why.

The creature was merely a robot drone designed to be as realistic as possible. It turn away from him so the Doctor saw the gaping hole left by the energy bolt. In the hole were the inner workings of the robot, still ticking away, albeit a little more laboured now.

He was snapped out of his scientific reverie by another shot. He actually felt the hairs on his head being shot. He threw himself to the left as yet another bolt flashed out of the muzzle of the gun and zip through the air where he had been standing only a moment ago.

He caught a glimpse of his pursuer and then it dawned on him.

It was a Silurian!

The Doctor groaned inwardly. He had only recently encountered Silurians, and they were here AGAIN! But, however inconvenient it might have been, one was right there, right then, and it was lining up another shot.

He scrambled deeper into the undergrowth. Two more bolts flashed through the foliage, but they were way off-target. The Doctor assumed that he had evaded the Silurian.

Until he came face-to-face with his adversary.

No, wait. This was a different one. If it were the same one, he couldn't have fired those bolts from behind the Doctor. Hence, there had to be multiple ones.

_And how many more would there be?_ thought the Doctor as he rolled to the side to avoid the Silurian's tongue. He allowed himself a small smile when it hit painfully injected venom into a branch.

Except even _that_ smile soon vanished as he came face-to-face with a semicircle of five other Silurians.

The Doctor grimaced. He stood up and eyed his adversaries.

"Hello, there," he said. "Can I ask – why are you chasing and shooting at me?"

One of the Silurians stepped forward. "We have information that you destroyed one of our home worlds," it rasped.

"And where did you receive this information from?" prompted the Doctor.

"Why should we tell _you_?" demanded the creature.

"Mainly because you have me trapped, so you might as well tell me everything because I'll never be able to tell anybody else given that you're about to kill me before I can," the Time Lord explained. The Silurian considered the logic for a moment.

"No," it said, "because there is still a chance that you will escape."

The Doctor nodded. "Okay, maybe you're slightly cleverer than I thought. Quite right too!"

For the duration of the conversation, he'd had his back to a tree branch and was slowly edging backwards, bending the tree branch away from the Silurians. Now, he leapt backwards over the tree branch. It snapped forward, swatting the Silurians out of the way. By sheer fluke, one of the blaster weapons went off, killing the second Silurian the Doctor had encountered.

"Good," he mumbled to himself, "That only leaves one."

He then suddenly remembered something he had seen on his way through the jungle. Was it this jungled he had seen it in? They all looked the same to him. Yes, it was this one, because he distinctly remembered seeing the something just before he encountered the first Silurian.

He grinned, turned and ran.

Amy was feeling slightly less terrified. The Doctor seemed to be making a pretty good job of defeating the Silurians. Perhaps she mightn't suffer at the hands of this madman after all.

But then, Galectus bent down and whispered something in her ear. "At the end of the challenges, the Doctor will have to find the way out in under two minutes. Otherwise, the biome will be filled with knock-out gas. He will have failed the challenge. And, might I add, the way out is rather difficult to find..."

His words sent a chill up Amy's spine as she realised that he had probably not included a usable exit. She turned to continue watching the Doctor.

The one remaining living Silurian was called Axtus. He had seen what had happened to his gene pool and it made him angry. All he could think about now was exacting vengeance on the man who had killed them.

A crashing sound in the undergrowth next to him made him turn and fire a concentrated energy burst. The plant life burst into flame, but he didn't worry. He'd worked out by now that this wasn't a real forest. All of the vegetation was fire-retardant, so the fire wouldn't last long.

He came to a clearing and there, on the other side, was the Doctor. The clearing was simply a roughly round area with a leafy floor and walls of ivy and trees all around. Basically, the Doctor was trapped.

The man looked like he realised his predicament. He grimaced.

"Looks like you've got me, then," said the Doctor. The Silurian grinned triumphantly.

"I've got you exactly where I want you, _Doctor_," it said. He pressed the trigger on his gun and the Doctor scrunched up his eyes.

Nothing happened.

The Silurian frowned, looked at his gun, then his brow cleared. "It appears you have emptied my charge pod. Not to worry." He threw the gun aside into the undergrowth. "I will have the pleasure of killing you with my bare hands."

He advanced on the Doctor. But that was when the Doctor smiled.

The Silurian stopped. "Why are you laughing?"

"I'm laughing at the thought of somebody as _weak_ as you killing me with your bare hands. Ha!" The Silurian thought the Doctor mad as it charged.

But then something impossible happened.

It disappeared into the undergrowth with a howl.

For the Doctor had strung a net of creepers across a large pit he had spied on the way through the forest. On top of the creepers he had piled a large amount of leaves. The weight of the Silurian had brought the netting down and it had fallen into the pit.

With a shout of triumph, the Doctor punched the air. He was completely ecstatic.

Until the voice came over the PA system.

"Congratulations, Doctor," came the voice. The Doctor recognised it as Galectus. "You have defeated the first enemy. But, to complete the challenge, you must find the way out in two minutes beginning in three...two...one...NOW!"

The Doctor instinctively reached into his inside jacket pocket, but then remembered. "Ah," he thought out loud, "No sonic. Right."

He looked all around him for any signs of an exit, but found none.

"One minute forty-five!" said Galectus.

The Doctor peered into his hole, but he realised very quickly that the hole wasn't the way out. He could see the Silurian at the bottom of it, lying motionless.

"One minute thirty!"

The Doctor sprinted down the path to the far wall of the biome, wasting fifteen precious seconds. He then turned and sprinted all around the biome, wasting forty-five further seconds.

"Fifteen...fourteen...thirteen..." counted the voice. The Doctor looked all around him again. Nothing.

"Ten...nine...eight..." came the voice. The Doctor peered into the hole once again and...did he see a little pixellation? Yes! He did! The Silurian had actually exited the biome but its image and the 'floor' was projected onto it! But then, he realised he was too late.

"One...zero! Too late!" sang the voice. From all the trees surrounding the clearing hissed a white vapour. The Doctor tried to leave the clearing, but the gas hit him before he could get away. He passed out at the edge of the hole, then toppled into it, falling into the exit portal.

Amy, still chained to the wall, nearly wept in terror. She had no knowledge of what was about to happen to her. Galectus turned from the screen, delight on his face.

"Isn't this fun?" he exclaimed. "I can now do _anything_ I _want_ to you!" His face hardened. "But, I suppose I've got plenty of time, so I'm going to make you pay for your rejection first!"

One of the guards muscled her round to face the wall. Her feet were chained together, then to the slab. Galectus approached her from behind.

Amy's heart pounded with fright. She tried to see what Galectus was doing, but she couldn't quite make it out. He seemed to be holding something that remained anonymous until it hit her.

The fiery pain spread across her back and she screamed.

Galectus was beating her!

Twenty minutes later, the Doctor was beamed into his separate cell. The Doctor lay, exhausted, on the floor. He had failed the first challenge because of a dirty trick. And the Doctor never liked people who played dirty tricks. In future, he would look out for the exit the moment he arrived in the biome.

The door to his cell opened and he jumped up. Galectus was in the doorway.

"I thought I might mention to you what is at stake. Your companion is in another cell. When you fail a challenge, I have my way with her. If you win three challenges, I release her. Clear?"

The Doctor swallowed. "Clear."

"Good." Galectus turned and exited the cell. The door clanked shut behind him.

The Time Lord slumped to the floor again. He vowed never to cause Amy to suffer again.

In her cell, Amy cried silently. Her back was bleeding from the beating. And, to make matters worse, he had... _Oh yes,_ she thought, _he'd had his way with me_. She vowed never to blame the Doctor for what had happened.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

All alone, locked up in her cell, Amy dreamed.

She dreamed of freedom from capture and pain. She dreamed of travelling with the Doctor and seeing new planets, creatures and times.

She dreamed of the TARDIS and the sanctuary it provided.

Strangest of all, she dreamed of Rory. She had never done that before. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if he would be able to save them. But then, her heart sank again as she realised that he would be panicking in the TARDIS, not knowing what to do or how to do it.

She dreamed of her aunt back home in the old people's home. Her aunt would have no knowledge of what was happening to her niece. With a start, she sat up.

"She'll never know!" she breathed. "She'll never know what happened to me. I'll have just...dropped off the map!"

That only made her all the more determined to never give in.

Meanwhile, the Doctor had a plan.

It was quite possibly one of the least cunning plans he had ever thought of, but then, simplicity is key.

The first piece of the puzzle fell into place as the door opened and a guard brought in a tray of porridge, bread and water.

The Doctor waited until the man had set the tray down before he made his move.

He kicked hard at the man's groin. The guard doubled over, but reached for his Glock 17. As soon as it was out of the holster, the Doctor struck again, this time at his wrist. The pistol went spinning away to the far corner of the cell.

The guard was down, but he wasn't out, for he delivered a swift uppercut to the Doctor's chin. He reeled back, saliva arcing from his lips, then crashed into the far wall. Dazed and bruised, he staggered to his feet.

The guard was feeling more confident, now. After the initial surprise of the attack, he was now back on top. He advance menacingly towards the Time Lord.

But then the guard saw it. The Doctor's eyelid flickered. But by the time he realised was had happened, it was already too late.

The Doctor had wrapped a length of chain around his fist, and now he used it. He flicked his wrist and the chain snapped out, a large ball of it slamming into the guard's solar plexus with the force of an oncoming car. The guard wheezed, then collapsed to the ground.

Pleased with his efforts, the Doctor sauntered over to the fallen pistol. He tucked it into his inside jacket pocket. Although he didn't intend to use it for its primary purpose, he felt he could use it some other way.

Stopping only to take the guard's keys, the Time Lord left the cell.

He had to find a computer terminal.

Meanwhile, in her cell, Amy was panting and shivering from another 'session' with Galectus. She was covered in blood and sweat. A ball of saliva and blood welled up in her mouth and she spat it onto the cell floor.

She had pretty much resigned herself to her fate. She knew that even if the Doctor won three of the challenges, Galectus would never let her leave. He would double-cross them and maybe kill the Doctor.

Turning to the wall, she sighed.

But that was when she saw it.

Perhaps a remnant of a previous chain or ring, there was an iron spike in a crumbling part of the wall. Tugging at it, it jiggled beneath her hand. Getting more and more excited, she pulled it out completely. Holding it in her hand gave her strength, and with one vicious movement, she brought it down onto a link of the chain.

The link shattered under the force of the blow.

_She was free!_

The Doctor was tapping away at a computer terminal.

It had been rather tricky to pretend he was Galectus, and even trickier again to convince the computer. However, he was in.

He had called up a labelled floor-plan of the facility. Working out the location of his own cell, that only left one other cell in the building.

Which had to be Amy.

As quickly as he could, he memorised the turns and bends in the path. Then, erasing all trace of his actions, he set off down a corridor.

Just as a precaution, he pulled the slide back on the Glock, a spent cartridge tinkling off the stone floor. Engaging the safety catch, he replaced the pistol in his jacket.

You never knew _how_ new regenerations would react under pressure.

With a sense of sickening dread, Amy realised she was lost.

She had wandered around those corridors for fifteen minutes but to no avail.

Unlike the Doctor, she didn't have the technical knowledge to hack a computer terminal, so she had no idea where she was headed.

Although a wardrobe would be nice.

But then she realised she was saved.

For around the corner came the second last person she expected to see (second only to Rory).

"D-doctor?" she stammered.

The Doctor stopped short. Then he ran towards her.

"Amy!" he cried. They ran into each other's arms. The Doctor held her tight.

"What did Galectus do to you?" he asked, concernedly. Amy spun round and only then did the Doctor see the extent of her pain.

"Oh, Amy! I'm so, so sorry," said the Time Lord. He took her into his embrace once more. Amy began to cry, huge sobs that wracked her whole body as all the pain and tension of the last twenty-four hours escaped.

The Doctor, not used to such situations, just increased his hold.

"It's all right, Amy, I've got you, it's all right." Only then did he see her prone, naked form.

"Oh...my...goodness," said the Doctor. "Did Galectus..." He trailed off. Through the tears, Amy nodded.

The Doctor held her close to him. For the first time in the last while, Amy felt completely secure.

But then her blood froze in horror.

Galectus was standing at the other end of the corridor with his hands up next to his cheek.

"Aw, isn't that _sweet_?" he said.

The Doctor turned to Amy. "Do you think you can do it naked?" he asked.

"Oh yeah!" she said.

They turned and ran.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Holding hands, they pounded down the corridor, Galectus' footsteps sounding horribly near. The Doctor stole a glance back and realised it was the amplification effect of the corridor. Galectus was still a good few yards back.

Putting on a new burst of speed, they passed the Doctor's cell. Outside, on a table, sat his sonic screwdriver! Without even slowing down, the Doctor reached out and plucked the screwdriver from the table, then slipped it into his jacket pocket.

Ahead, the corridor turned round to the right, but just in front of them was a door with a sign describing it to be the entrance to a female changing room. Without even speaking, the Doctor knew that the changing room was their destination.

The two burst through the door and shut it behind them. The Doctor shone the screwdriver on the lock and it clicked. He flicked on a light switch.

Luckily for Amy, a woman who was roughly her size had just come out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her hair. When she saw the Doctor, she half-screamed and flung an arm across her front.

In that split-second, the Doctor discovered his use for the Glock 17.

He pulled it out and trained it on the woman, who was now cowering in a corner.

"Look," he said, "I don't want to hurt you. As you can see, my friend here has a little lack of clothing. She is going to be taking yours. If you kick up a fuss, I will shoot. Understood?"

The woman, took scared to speak, nodded dumbly.

The Doctor turned to Amy. "Go on, get dressed!"

Amy frowned at the gun, but the thought of warm clothing was too strong to resist. She reached for the woman's underwear and started dressing.

Suddenly, there came a huge crash from the door as a team of guards flung a battering ram at the door. Mercifully, it held.

Amy was just slipping on a medium-length skirt and tightening up a blouse.

"Amy, I don't think we've got much time to accessorise, here," said the Time Lord.

"Right, done!" said Amy as she finished tying up some shoelaces.

The Doctor once again fixed his gaze on the clothing-less woman. "Is there a back way out?" he asked. The woman pointed in the direction of another door at the other side of the changing room. The Doctor and Amy darted to the other side of the changing room and exited a couple of seconds before the other door burst open.

Galectus was furious that his own personal _pets_ had escaped. He turned to the cowering woman.

"Where have they gone?" he demanded. "Are they hiding in here?"

Even though the woman worked for him, she realised that there was something amiss.

"No," she said, "They left through there when you went to get the battering ram." She pointed to the door he had just come through.

Although Galectus severely doubted the truth in this, he realise that it was most certainly possible. He had had to go into an office to ring for the battering ram. He turned to follow, then he had an idea.

"Milo!" he said into his lapel. "Run a life sign scan of the whole complex and tell me which ones haven't been ID'd."

"Roger," came the reply. "Running now."

Galectus waited for one minute before Milo came back on the speaker. "Got them, sir. East corridor, heading for Administration."

"Thank you, Milo," said Galectus. The woman in the corner became even more terrified than before because she, as well as Galectus, knew that the east corridor could only be reached by going out the other door. Galectus turned to the woman and pulled out a handgun.

"You shouldn't have betrayed me," he said, then shot her. The bullet spat out of the gun at one thousand feet per second. The woman was dead before the report reached her.

Not even looking at the prostrate body, Galectus continued the pursuit.

The Doctor and Amy had made astounding progress in the time it took for this altercation to take place. They had nearly found the exit.

Still aching from her previous ordeals, Amy couldn't run as fast as usual. Perhaps that was the only reason why they failed in their escape attempt.

With a flash of light and a fizz in the air, Galectus teleported to in front of the two. They managed to put on the brakes before crashing into him.

"I must say that congratulations are in order," he said. "I didn't think you would ever get so far!" Amy's spirits plummeted as he pulled out a gun. But then she got the shock of her life.

The Doctor had the Glock trained on Galectus. To her horror, he fired.

But only afterwards did she realise what he was aiming for. The bullet hit the gun in Galectus' hand and shattered it. The Doctor pulled Amy past Galectus and they continued running.

Galectus was tight up behind them as they sprinted for safety. But then he turned the tables as he pulled out a dart gun.

Amy felt the heat of the dart slam into her back between her shoulder blades. She twisted and fell, unconscious before she even hit the floor. A second dart skimmed the Doctor's jacket, tearing the shoulder seam. However, the third dart found its mark, catching him in the left arm. Struggling for consciousness, the Time Lord turned back to Amy.

"I'm so...sorry..." he managed to say before the blackness caught up with him. He fell not three feet in front of her.

Amy regained consciousness back in her cell. The entry site of the dart stung like crazy and she was still trying to shake off the after-effects of the knockout drug. The clothes had been removed again and she was rechained to the wall.

She slammed her fist into the wall in frustration. They had been so _close_! She was nearly able to smell freedom!

Turning to face the cell, she slumped against the wall, the rough stone scraping fine white lines down her back, but she didn't care any more. Her spirit was nearly broken. She was coming close to giving up all hope whatsoever.

The Doctor also regained consciousness. He was furious at his failed rescue attempt. He had so nearly succeeded!

He just hoped that Galectus didn't break her, for if he did, there was no knowing what might happen. She might simply lose all energy and spirit, or she might even lose the will to live. He had seen it happen before, and just hoped Amy had the resolve to hang on.

They came for Amy the next morning.

She was roughly dragged to her feet and the chain was unlocked. Two guards frogmarched her down the corridor to another cell-like room, where she was bundled into a chair and straps were fastened over her wrists and ankles.

Galectus was standing at the far end of the room, seemingly in contemplation. He turned, as if seeing her for the first time.

"You gave me a huge shock, having pulled a Houdini like that," he remarked. His face twisted into pure hatred. "So you're going to pay."

He pulled a hypodermic syringe out of his pocket and filled it from a small bottle on a table. He held it up to the light. "This liquid contains trillions of nanorobots, programmed to target particular areas of the body. Clusters of about a billion sit at strategic points in the nervous system." He injected the serum into a vein in Amy's arm. She felt it trickle throughout her body.

Galectus picked up a remote control from the same table. He held it in front of Amy's face.

She swallowed nervously. "What does that do?" she asked.

Galectus sneered. "This activates the nanorobots in any area of your body I choose. They send pain signals through the nerves there. So, let's begin, shall we?"

He pressed a button, and as the pain hit, Amy screamed.

The Doctor heard the screams echo around the complex, and he nearly wept for her. He really regretted the escape attempt because she was now being punished for it.

What had changed? he wondered. Only a couple of days ago, they were laughing and bantering in the TARDIS. They were talking about different planets and times, and discussing where to go for dinner. But now, Amy was enduring unimaginable suffering and the Doctor was the sole cause of it.

He started pacing about the cell. They had taken away the pistol and his screwdriver again. He had no way of fighting back and no way of escaping.

No, wait! There was one thing. Was it in his pocket? The Doctor thrust his hand into the pocket and scrambled around. Then, his fingers closed around perhaps the only object that could save them.

He gave a manic grin and rushed to the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Amy sagged in the straps, defeated. Her hair hung in front of her face. She sobbed quietly.

The pain had become unbearable after a while, but there was nothing she could do about it. She had just accepted it and let it happen. The sweat ran in rivulets down her skin, but she didn't care about that, either. As far as she was concerned, she could die or not and it would be all the same to her.

She thought back to her childhood. She thought back to when the Doctor first fell out of the sky. Had she dreamed of running away with him...for this?

The energy washed away from her, leaving her slightly more drained than the previous second. All it did was make her more hardened to the pain.

From the door lock came a scraping and scratching noise, then a click. The door swung open.

Amy didn't even lift her head. She just waited to hear Galectus' voice, then feel the pain.

"Oh, thank goodness! Amy, it's me!" said the Doctor.

After a pause came the reply. "Oh."

He rushed over to the chair and began undoing the straps.

"Don't bother, Doctor," she said. "Just leave me. I don't care any more."

The Doctor was torn between giving her a hard slap to wise her up and just ignoring her. In spite of the fact that he knew discovery was looming over them, he stopped and lifted her chin.

"Amy, look at me," he said soothingly. She complied, her eyes rolling to look at his.

"Before you sign your death warrant, let me remind you of the number of people who will miss you. Your Nan will miss you. All your friends will miss you. Obviously I will miss you. But most importantly, Miss Pond, your fiancée will miss you terribly. He will be cut...to the throat! Imagine what he would _do_ to me if you died here!"

Amy choked out a smile. The Doctor let out an even bigger one back. "That's better - a little fighting spirit, eh?" He bent down and unbuckled her left arm, then her right arm. She threw them round his shoulders and clutched tightly. Then, she lifted her head off his jacket and looked at him quizzically. "How'd you get out?" she asked.

The Doctor held up a slender, metallic object in front of her eyes. "Hairpin!" he said. "Works in the movies, so it works for me. Anyway..." He put it back in his pocket and released Amy's legs. She leapt out of the seat, some of the old fire returning to her eyes.

"Do we get to kick Galectus'es butt yet?" she asked hopefully.

The Doctor grinned. "That depends on whether he gets in our way or not. And it's Galectus', not _Galectus'es_!"

Hand in hand, they left the room.

From his office, Galectus watched the proceedings. He took in Amy's body for one last time, as he knew it would be the last time he saw it alive.

He inserted a fresh clip into his own custom-made 9mm pistol, then grinned. It would be fun to kill them after having caused him so much trouble.

Amy had revisited the ladies' changing room again, this time pulling on a miniskirt and high-cut top. She didn't feel particularly comfortable, but she could run like billy-oh with it all on. Having laced up a pair of canvas deck shoes about half a size too small, she was ready to run again.

They left the changing room and went down the same corridor as they used in their last escape attempt. Ironically, they were about the same distance away from the exit as before, too, when Galectus appeared.

He levelled the pistol and smirked.

"I'm not going to waste time on pleasantries," he said. "I'm just going to kill you."

He fired, but the Doctor wasn't standing where he was a second ago. Instead, he had dodged forward next to Galectus' gun hand. The heel of his hand lashed out with immense force, catching the other man just at the wrist. There came a ghastly crack, and Galectus shrieked with pain, dropping the pistol. It clattered away, out of the battle.

The Doctor spoke for the last time in the confrontation. "I wouldn't normally do this, but I'll happily make an exception for you. You hurt my friend. My very good friend. So now you are going to pay."

With that, the Doctor began. He grabbed Galectus by the back of his jacket and hurled him headlong into a wall. Not stopping for a moment, he systematically beat the man into the dirt, not with any style, but flawless methodic progression until Galectus was on his knees, on the ground, blood dripping out of his mouth and nose.

The Doctor cooly walked over to the fallen gun, picked it up and cocked it. He set it against Galectus' head.

"I should kill you right now," he said. "I should kill you for the pain and suffering you inflicted upon Amy, but I'm not. I'm going to let Amy decide. You are at her mercy, Galectus."

The Time Lord turned to Amy. "Well? It's your decision."

Amy didn't even have to think. "No. We're better than that. He deserves a fair trial."

Grinning, the Doctor looked back down at the quivering man.

"You should feel forever in _debt_ to her, Galectus. Even after what you've done to her, she still is showing you mercy. I think Justicia is the place for you, Galectus."

If possible, the man started shaking even harder. "Oh no. Please, I beg of you, not that!" he wailed.

The Doctor plucked a brass object from the inside pocket of Galectus' jacket. "Good to have you back," he said to it, then put the sonic screwdriver in his own jacket.

Galectus was still a gibbering wreck, so the Doctor turned his back.

"Leave him," he said. "He'll still be there for the Justicia lot in five minutes."

He put his mouth to Amy's ear. "That took guts, that did. Anybody else in your position would have exacted all the revenge they could, but not good ol' Amy Pond!"

Amy looked at him. "Well, Doctor, I don't know about you, but I'd never be able to forgive myself if I killed somebody."

She put her hand to her mouth and laughed. "We'd better get back to the TARDIS!" she said. "Rory'll be having a fit!"

The Doctor joined in the laughter. Then, slipping her arm into his, Amy and the Doctor left Galectus for the last time.

**TWO DAYS LATER**

Lord Theo Galectus (29) was found guilty of extended assault, the Justicia courtroom reported today. He was charged with no less than fifteen counts of assaulting female prisoners and sentenced to life imprisonment on Justicia Delta. Galectus was diagnosed with sadistic tendencies five years ago by Doctor Alex Elroxx, who suggested a course of psychiatry. Ignoring this, Galectus imprisoned fifteen young women sequentially to satiate his sadistic needs, the most recent of which was Amelia Pond (23). She was held prisoner for three days at his home on newly-designated Malkasaar 2 without any food or water. It is suspected that she was assaulted numerous times throughout this time period. Evidence in the court was presented by one of his personal staff, Mr. Duncan Tropp. In his summing-up after the case, the Chief Justice said...


End file.
